Adobe 13102498 User Guide - Page 114

107 Chapter 5: Color Color can be described in several ways using a color model such as RGB or CMYK. As you work in your image, you specify colors using one of the color models. In Photoshop you choose the approach to color that's appropriate for your image and how it's being used. About color Understanding color Knowing how colors are created and how they relate to each other lets you work more effectively in Photoshop. Instead of achieving an effect by accident, you'll produce consistent results thanks to an understanding of basic color theory. Primary colors Additive primaries are the three colors of light (red, green, and blue) that produce all the colors in the visible spectrum when added together in different combinations. Adding equal parts of red, blue, and green light produces white. The complete absence of red, blue, and green light results in black. Computer monitors are devices that use the additive primaries to create color. R G B Additive colors (RGB) R. Red G. Green B. Blue Subtractive primaries are pigments, which create a spectrum of colors in different combinations. Unlike monitors, printers use subtractive primaries (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black pigments) to produce colors through subtractive mixing. The term "subtractive" is used because the primary colors are pure until you begin mixing them together, resulting in colors that are less pure versions of the primaries. For example, orange is created through the subtractive mixing of magenta and yellow together.